


The Benevolent Doppelganger

by PuppyLuver256



Series: Life and Times in the Habit-Bora Household [8]
Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Developing Friendships, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26818072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuppyLuver256/pseuds/PuppyLuver256
Summary: When the Habit-Bora family make a trip to New York for the twins' birthday celebration, they meet a woman who through sheer coincidence is somehow incredibly similar to Boris. While some of those similarities are benign, others are things neither of them would wish for anyone to experience.
Relationships: Dr. Boris Habit & Original Character(s), Dr. Boris Habit & Putunia Mollar, Kamal Bora & Original Character(s), Kamal Bora & Putunia Mollar, Kamal Bora/Dr. Boris Habit, Original Character(s) & Original Character(s), Original Character/Original Character, Putunia Mollar & Original Character(s)
Series: Life and Times in the Habit-Bora Household [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552876
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Clear as Glass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The majority of this story takes place in March of 1996, with flashbacks to past events in subsequent chapters.

“Let’s go, let’s go, come on!”

“I’m hurreying as fast as I ‘can’!”

“We’re not gonna make it!”

“FASTER, POPS! GO GO GO!!!”

The three of them ran through the airport halls with all they had, or at least the two adults were while Putunia sat on Boris’s shoulders. It was chaotic enough that they were getting up early on a Sunday, but there had also been a wreck on the highway that had backed up traffic for a worrying amount of time. They had made it to the airport in time regardless, thankfully, and if they could just make it to the terminal they’d be good. It was them against the clock, and while Boris and Kamal were suitably worried, Putunia was having the time of her life.

They made it to the terminal with precious few minutes to spare, Kamal almost completely out of breath and Boris nearly at that point. He had to let Putunia down so he could take a seat, and because she hadn’t been running herself she started excitedly scampering around in circles almost as soon as her feet touched the ground. “Let’s do that again!” she exclaimed. “Come on, let’s run again!”

“Noooo, we’re...we’re not doing that again...not unless...not unless we have to...” Kamal panted. He collapsed into one of the few empty chairs and dropped his part of the carry-on onto the floor. “Boris, I’m impressed you can still carry her on your shoulders like that. She’s gotten bigger in the past couple years.”

“I’m still the big-gest and strong-gest," Boris laughed tiredly. He turned his attention to Putunia. “A few more ‘years’ and youl be two big fore shoulder rides,” he said. “We had better get as manie as you want in while we still can!”

"Yeah, yeah!”

They wouldn’t have any time for more shoulder rides just then, though, as a voice came over the terminal’s intercom announced that the plane was allowing passengers to begin boarding at that moment. Boris and Kamal groaned, but they both stood up and got their carry-on regardless, and as he was closer to where she was standing Boris took Putunia’s hand in his own. “I can’t remember if I actually booked the extra leg room this time,” Kamal said. “I really hope I did...”

“Ime pretty sure you did,” Boris said. “Remembrer that little note you left for you’re ‘self’?”

“Yeah,” Kamal said, “and your correction.”

“Be-coze you’re not an idiot!” Boris pulled Kamal in close with his free arm. “You were just a little silley-forgetful the last thyme, we All are sometimes, me espeshally.”

“I know, Boris.”

“Speak-ing of which, did I remember my medesin? I think I did...”

“You did, don’t worry.”

\-----

The six hour flight was definitely everyone’s least favorite part about these cross-country family visits, both in terms of spending nearly all that time in a seat in an airborne metal tube (especially mentally taxing on an energetically hyperactive nine year old) and the resultant jetlag that would come from having essentially time-traveled three hours either ahead or backwards from what their minds were used to. Either way, the three of them were now in New York, and with no more strict schedule they were free to exit the terminal at their own pace. And apparently Putunia’s pace was _just_ as rushed as they all had been when they were trying to make their flight, as she immediately dashed through the halls and Boris and Kamal had to give chase to make sure she didn’t get lost.

“So who is pick-ing us upp this time?” Boris asked once they’d managed to convince Putunia to keep relatively close to at least one of them.

“I don’t actually know,” Kamal admitted. “I think it might be Jazz again? She’s usually the one who does it...”

“So it’s like a surprise!" Putunia exclaimed. “I hope it _is_ Aunt Jazz, I gotta see how my tiny sidekick is doing!”

“Oh wow, I just realized Vio’s gonna be a year old in a few months,” Kamal mused. “Time flies real quick, huh, feels like just a little bit ago we were flying in to see her for the first time...”

Putunia shook her head. “Nuh-uh! That was for _ever_ ago! Sooo much stuff happened since then!”

“It probally feels like four-ever for her too,” Boris said. “It just feels like 'less’ time for Dad and Me because we’ve been aroumd for longer.” He gave Kamal a sly grin. “And itse another ‘year’ for you, lily!” he chuckled. “Can’t beleaf you're going-to be thir—”

“Don’t!” Kamal insisted. "You don’t need to mention it!"

“What?” Boris asked innocently. “Is their some-thing wrong with being thirty-f—”

“ _Doooon’t!_ ”

They continued on their way for a bit, but soon enough Boris bent down and whispered into Kamal’s ear, “ _Thirty-fooour!_ ” Kamal hid his face and let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh come _on_ , lily, thirty-fore isn’t _old!_ ” Boris teased. “And even if it Was, your onley as old as you ‘feel’! Mentally, at leaste.”

“I know, but still, the thirties onward are all the boring birthdays,” Kamal said. “It’s not like when you’re a kid and every birthday’s exciting, or when you start hitting the milestone years or whatever.” He sighed, but smiled nonetheless. “Least it’s an excuse to come back here for a bit, cuz I’m not the only one getting older here.”

“You got that right!”

The three of them turned their attention to the voice, seeing Kanti approaching with a wave. The dyed parts of her hair had a turquoise streak in them this time, which went well with the usual bright red. “I’ve missed you guys so much!” Kanti exclaimed. “It’s been three months since the last time!” She gave Kamal a big hug first, then Boris, and then held out her hand to let Putunia give it a hearty punch.

“So I take it you came with Jazz like back in November?” Kamal asked. “She’s baby-wrangling at the moment, huh?”

Kanti shook her head. “Nope, I’m picking you guys up this time,” she said with a mischievous grin. “Well, technically, anyway.”

Kamal raised an eyebrow. “You got a passenger car?” he asked. “Doesn’t sound like you.”

“Not quite,” Kanti said, with a bit of an uncharacteristic nervous laugh. “And before you ask, no, I didn’t rent one either. I just...okay, I have someone with me, and I wanted you guys to be the first to meet her. See, that girl I was into, well we kinda...started officially dating last month.”

Even though none of them were standing close enough to feel it, Kamal could imagine the heat coming off his sister’s face as she said that. “That’s great news!” he exclaimed. “So, uh, why do you want _us_ to meet her first? I’d think you’d at least introduce her to Jazz first at least, maybe Heather if you weren’t gonna go straight for the whole ‘meet my parents’ thing...”

“I can under-stand wanting two ‘wait’ to tell parrents about that sort of thing,” Boris said. “Then a-gen I have my owmn issues with...telling parents things...”

“Oh, no no no, it’s nothing like that!” Kanti insisted. “I just figured that it’d be easier on everyone if she at least got to meet Boris before everyone else started asking questions she wouldn’t be ready to answer yet—”

“Kätzchen?” a voice called out, interrupting everyone’s train of thought. “Is everything all right? I assumed you and your brother’s family would be coming out by now...”

Kanti turned around, and Boris, Kamal, and Putunia turned their attention to the very tall woman approaching them. The ones that had just flown in were quite familiar with at least two tall women, of course, so it wasn’t her height that drew most of the interest. Moreover, it was the woman’s general presence. Nearly everything about her was familiar in some way. The long flowing hair held up in a ponytail, the newsboy-style cap paired with a peacoat of the same color, the long face with heavy eyes, the obvious sharpness of her fingers even underneath the gloves she was wearing, the _heels_... She was so similar to Boris, yet different enough from him for those similarities to be so uncanny.

“Avaaaa, I was just telling them about you!” Kanti exclaimed. She put her arm around the woman’s and grinned. “Sooo yeah, everyone, this is Ava,” Kanti told them. “Ava, this is my brother Kamal, my brother-in-law Boris, and my niece Putunia.”

“Ava Glass,” the woman said, holding out a hand with slight trepidation. “It is nice to meet all of you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Kamal said, taking Ava’s hand in his own for the handshake she was offering.

“Like-wise!” Boris said, shaking Ava’s hand as well. She winced a bit at that, perhaps not expecting his grip to be as strong as it was. “Oh, I’m sorrey, did I ‘hurt’ you with that?” he asked. “I domt know my own strength sometimes...”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Ava said. “My hands just...they tend to be more sensitive than usual on occasion.”

“Speaking of hands!” Kanti blurted out. “I, uh, I just noticed that cool black ring you’re wearing, Boris! That a, um, a recent development, I take it?”

“Oh, yes!” Boris’s attention was brought to the ring in question, something that he had taken just as much pride in wearing as his wedding ring. “Itse a-parent-ley an ‘Ace Ring’, I got the ideya to get one last month,” he explained. “It shows that your asexual and Proud of it!”

“Come to think of it, I swear I saw Aspen wearing one of those lately too," Kanti said. “Along with a white one on the other hand, that probably means something similar but I can’t remember if he’s told me or not...”

“Are we gonna go get food?” Putunia suddenly asked, interrupting the conversation with about as much tact as a nine year old would have. “The plane food was _terrible!_ My sandwich wasn’t even shaped like a plane...”

Kamal laughed. “To be fair, Tunes, they never promised it _would_ be.”

“I know, but still...”

“We’re going to be staying with Jaz-min and Lin, right?” Boris asked. He knelt down to Putunia’s level with a smile. “Think you can hold ‘out’ untill Then?” he asked her. “Ime sure they will have much better food than the plain did, and you can spemd time with little Violetta too.”

Putunia gasped. “That’s right!” she exclaimed. “I gotta check on my sidekick!!”

"Oh, is this Violetta a cousin of yours?" Ava asked.

“Yeah, and she’s my sidekick too!” Putunia insisted. “She’s protecting the family here when I can’t!”

“That’s very brave of her," Ava said with a small chuckle.

“Real brave, considering she’s not even gonna be a year old until a couple months from now,” Kanti said, causing Ava’s eyes to widen in a bit of recognition. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet her and her parents once we take these goobers there, hehe.”

“Hey, I’m not a goober!” Kamal retorted playfully.

“In any case, maybe we should get going?” Ava suggested. “I wouldn’t want to keep you for too long, and I’m unfortunately not the best with directions when traveling somewhere I’m not familiar with...”

“Good idea, yeah,” Kanti said. “Well then, let's head out! Tall peeps in the front, try not to crush our baby legs with the seats.”

“I’m _not_ a baby!” Putunia yelled defiantly.

“Your _our_ babie,” Boris said with a laugh. “Even if we dident know you when you were a litteral babey, your still our baby.”

“I’m _not_ a baby, though,” Putunia once again insisted in a huff. “I’m a _hero_.”

Nevertheless, the five of them made their way out of the airport and to Ava’s car. It was also strikingly similar to Boris’s back in California, though it was probably out of the same necessity for leg room given their near-equal height. Kamal wasn’t used to sitting in the back seat as an adult, as all his other friends who joined Boris and Ava in the Incredibly Tall Individuals Club had their own cars and he only ever rode with one of them without Boris present to where the front seat would still be empty for him, so the perspective from the back of the car always felt really skewed. The fairly new experience of having to put his legs up in the seat to avoid getting smushed by Boris setting his seat back felt kind of silly too, though being part of a kid-and-parent back seat sandwich was at least a rare familiarity at this point.

“So yeah, guess you can kinda imagine why I wanted this introduction to be the first one,” Kanti said. “Wanted to take care of what could potentially be the most awkward one as soon as possible, given the weird similarities between Ava and Boris...”

“Yeah, the resemblance is _uncanny_ ," Kamal admitted. "You guys noticed that, right?”

“I must admit, I did not expect Kanti’s brother-in-law to look so similar to myself,” Ava chuckled. “It was quite the surprise!”

“Itse kind of funnie too!” Boris said with a laugh of his own. “You could all-most be my sister, if not for diferrent original homes, I think?”

“We should both be glad we’re not siblings, otherwise that would make things extremely awkward for both our romantic partners also being siblings,” Ava pointed out.

“Thats a verey good pointe!”

“So are we gonna get going or what?” Putunia asked impatiently. “I’m hungry and I wanna see Vio!”

“Well, we all seem to be settled in the car now, so I believe we’re good to go,” Ava said. She started the car and put it into gear. “All right, Kanti, you're going to have to direct me. Can you do that from there?”

“No problem, babe,” Kanti said. “You’re gonna wanna start by turning left once we get outta here...”

They soon set out from the airport, Kanti gently giving Ava direction and fairly pleasant conversation had by everyone in the interim of instructions. One thing was for sure, both the twins had a feeling this birthday week was going to be a wild one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, finally get to write with Ava! Well, write her in something that’s getting posted publicly shortly after completion, hehe. The other stuff’ll get posted as part of a big series of one-shots, but not for a looooong while XD I’m more than likely gonna have some flashbacks in the upcoming chapters that show how Kanti and Ava got to know each other and start dating and such, don’t exactly wanna cover important stuff like that via the “oh lemme just recount what happened without all the details” thing. If you guys want me to mark those bits in a certain way, just lemme know. Like a year mark or something. I’m not gonna make the whole flashback section in italics or anything like that, that’s for my weird semi-pretentious Zelda fic that I really need to pick back up sometime. I still have Ideas for that, dammit! And my Pokejinka fic series! It’s just SFM has completely taken over my braaain...
> 
> And _no_ , Ava is not some weird attempt at making a genderbent Boris. I don’t do the genderbending thing, haven’t done it in years, I just thought it would be funny if the woman Kanti fell for was coincidentally very similar to the man Kamal fell for. They still have several key differences to them, don’t worry. :3 (like they’re not even from the same country of origin, the differences can get _that_ big even with the numerous close similarities)


	2. Meetings and Greetings

_-July 1988-_

Kanti sat in the waiting room of the Sanfter Löwe Animal Clinic, bouncing her leg up and down in an uncharacteristically nervous manner. Frankly speaking, she shouldn’t be so nervous. It wasn’t like she was here to get Garfield looked at, after all. He was happy and healthy back at home, and she was here with a lot of good dogs and cats to supply some of that much-needed serotonin just by being in their presence. And yet, she was feeling a lot like her twin brother right now, a bundle of nerves. This was possibly going to be her first proper veterinary job! She’d done her time as an intern, and now she could finally achieve her dream and be an actual veterinarian. The only thing standing between her and that was this interview.

“Ms. Bora?”

She perked up at having her name called, her stomach still doing somersaults in her abdomen. It was go time, and the secretary having called her “Ms.” rather than “Dr.” seemed to hammer in the point that despite her schooling she still wasn’t a practicing doctor just yet. “Yeah, just a sec,” Kanti said, standing up from her seat and making sure her wallet hadn’t fallen out of the ridiculously small pockets of the “nice” pants she was wearing before following the secretary into the back office. _God_ , her clothes weren’t setting her nerves at ease in the slightest. They were meant to impress rather than to feel good when being worn, and they were itchy and tight in the wrong places and just generally uncomfortable. It made her feel more like she was trying to be her oldest sister than herself.

She followed the secretary into the back, eventually being brought to an office to wait for the head doctor of this place. Apparently this person had insisted on conducting all interviews personally, which made Kanti both hopeful and nervous. And once the door opened, she became overcome with an entirely different feeling. The woman sitting at the desk was drop-dead _gorgeous_. Those soft eyes and silky-looking long hair, and once she stood up from her seat Kanti could see that she was _tall_. God, she loved tall women.

“Oh, hello there,” the woman said once she noticed Kanti’s presence. “You must be the next interviewee. Bora, am I right? Kanti Bora?”

Oh god, her voice was like honey to Kanti’s ear. This was either going to make the interview marginally easier or incredibly difficult. “Y-yes, that’s, um, that’s me, yeah,” she said once her heart had managed to come back down from its fluttering state. “Kanti Bora, that’s me, yup.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Kanti,” the woman said. She walked around the desk and held out an oddly gloved hand for Kanti to shake, which she all too eagerly accepted. “I’m Dr. Glass, though I gather you already made that connection.” She smiled, and _god that smile was so soft, so cute..._ “So, are you ready to begin the interview?”

“Oh, uh, yes, more than ready.”

“Good,” Dr. Glass said. She motioned for Kanti to take a seat, which she did, and the doctor returned to her own seat behind the desk. “I will say, your educational credentials already check out very well,” she mused, reexamining Kanti’s resume. “And this would be your first actual employment in the field, correct?”

“Yes, correct,” Kanti replied. “All my previous experience is internship.”

“I see. That’s to be expected, of course.” Dr. Glass looked up at her, a soft smile still on her face, one that seemed to hide a sense of sadness behind it. “What is it that led you to seek out this particular clinic?” she asked.

“Well, I’ve had good experiences here from the side of the client, as I’ve brought my cat here a few times,” Kanti said. “It’s close to my apartment too, and being close to home would be preferable if possible.”

“Understandable, convenience is a plus whenever possible,” Dr. Glass said. “And are there any particular species of pet we treat here that you would be unwilling to work with? This clinic caters to most pets, after all. The standard dogs and cats, of course, but also rabbits, most rodents, some birds, and a few varieties of reptiles. Are you comfortable with them?”

Kanti gave the question some thought. “I can’t see myself being wigged out by any of ‘em, actually,” she eventually said. “Unless someone comes in with like a scorpion or something, but I don’t even know if those are legal to _keep_ in this area, hehe...”

“Honestly, if someone brought in an arachnid I think I would have them take their business elsewhere,” Dr. Glass admitted. “They’re not exactly the most comfortable thing to deal with, after all. Not something at the top of my fear list, of course, but still a decent level on that list.”

The two of them shared an awkward professional laugh, and there was a brief pause before Kanti asked, “So is there anything else you’d need to know?”

Dr. Glass thought for a bit before responding, “Nothing that I believe wouldn’t have been covered in either our discussion today or your resume.” She smiled that oddly sad smile again. “I will call you in a few days to let you know whether or not you’ve been chosen for the job.”

“Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Glass,” Kanti said.

“My pleasure.”

The women shook hands once again, and this time Kanti could notice that the doctor was hesitant to use her full grip. She seemed to be wincing a bit too. “You all right?” Kanti asked.

“Ah, yes, I’m fine, thank you for your concern,” Dr. Glass said. “I just, I sometimes get a bit of pain in my hands...” She grimaced, acting as though she wanted to add more explanation but was reluctant to do so, before eventually deciding to drop the matter entirely. Kanti wasn’t going to press the issue, even though she did suspect it had something to do with why the doctor was wearing non-medical gloves during this interview. One’s own health was their own personal business, after all. She certainly wasn’t going to offer information of _her_ medical history to her potential employer that she’d only just met, and so she wouldn’t expect her to do the same.

They parted amicably, and while Kanti was still unsure of whether or not she would be getting the job, she was at least confident that regardless her cat was in good hands whenever he would have to be brought there. True, this _was_ the first time she had had personal interaction with Dr. Glass herself, but an animal lover could always sense another of their own. Now all she had to do was get home, wait for the eventual call back, and get herself into some way more comfortable pants.

\-----

_-March 1996-_

The drive to Jasmine and Lin’s house was a pleasant one. Ava may have taken a wrong turn once or twice along the way, but it wasn’t too terribly difficult to course-correct and they arrived only a few minutes later than had been expected. “Here we are,” Kanti said once they pulled into the driveway. “You guys ready to finally relax?”

“More than ready,” Kamal said with a sigh. Even though he and Boris and Putunia still had the mindset of “it should be nearly 4”, the darkened sky betrayed the local time and was really messing with his head. And while he couldn’t exactly speak for them, he assumed the same was happening to Boris and Putunia as well.

Of course, Putunia wasn’t letting any potential time screwing get in the way of her excitement. She was practically bouncing out of her seat. “Lemme out, lemme ouuut!” she exclaimed. “I gotta see my sidekick!!!”

“Dad or Kanti have two get out first, daisy,” Boris said, laughing a little. Soon enough, Kamal had gotten out of the car and Putunia shot out after him almost immediately. “Carefull with your rushing, Putunia!” Boris reminded her. “We have all weak for you to see Violetta, and the rest of the family too!”

“But—aaagh!” Putunia shouted before stumbling over an upturned tree root, though thankfully she was able to right herself before she actually fell. “I wanna see her _now!_ ”

“You’ll literally get to see her in just a few minutes, she _lives_ here,” Kamal chuckled.

Soon enough everyone had gotten out of the car and made their way to the door. Kanti rang the doorbell, more times than was strictly necessary as was per usual for her, and soon enough Lin answered it. “Hey, we’re here,” Kanti said with a grin.

“Oh, hey Kanti,” Lin said. “So how’d you manage to get the others here without a—” It was then that he noticed Ava, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! That...yeah, that would make sense! She did say something about introductions, hehe...”

“Hello there,” Ava said with a friendly wave. “I’m Ava, Kanti’s partner. You’re one of the in-laws, yes?”

“Yeah, I’m Lin,” he said, holding out a hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Ava. Well, you guys should come in, the stoop’s not a great place for socializing.”

Lin moved out of the way so that the five of them could enter, and before anyone else could get in Putunia burst through the door. “Hi, Uncle Lin!” she shouted as she ran past him, and once she ran into Jasmine she followed up with an equally enthusiastic “Hi, Aunt Jazz!”

“There’s the family superhero!” Jasmine laughed, bending down to give Putunia a big hug as everyone else took the opportunity to enter. “It’s so good to see you guys again, it’s only been a little over two months and it still feels like it’s been too long!”

“I’ve missed you guys too,” Kamal said as he made his way over to Jasmine, giving her a hug as well.

“Boris, get your butt over here for hugs,” Jasmine said with a grin. “I’ve needed one of your big ol’ hugs since Kamal let us know when you’d get here.”

“Domt mind if I dew!” Boris approached Jasmine and gave her a very big, strong hug and they were all laughing from the giddy reunion vibes.

Ava watched over this happy family moment with a smile. “It seems you are all very close,” she said, almost with a sense of longing.

Jasmine looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and finally noticed the new face in the group. “Oh my god, it’s another Boris,” she gasped. “Er, sorry, not that that’s a bad thing at all! It’s just you two look pretty similar so it kind of surprised me, that’s all!”

“Yes, I’m aware of the rather uncanny similarities,” Ava said with a laugh.

“Soooo yeah, guys, this is Ava,” Kanti said. “She’s my girlfriend, we met at work, been working together since I started...”

“ _Just_ working together?” Jasmine asked, raising her eyebrow and giving her a knowing look.

“...Okay, she’s my boss,” Kanti admitted. “Well, soon to be ex-boss, actually...”

“Wait, what? Ex-boss?” Kamal asked. “Did, um, did something happen? I thought you loved working at that clinic...”

“Kanti is not the one leaving, not to my knowledge or hope at least,” Ava insisted. “Without going into too much detail, I have not been happy working there since the beginning and I will be resigning. It’s not that I don’t love animals, on the contrary I _adore_ them, I would just rather not get to know them on such an... _internal_ level.”

“Oh, is that sew...” Boris frowned slightly. “I can ree-late, two years ago I ‘quit’ my old and depress-ing job to purrsue my True Passion. Ime a florist now, I opened a Flower Shop last year!”

“Aaaaaa I can’t wait anymooore!!!” Putunia shouted. “Where’s! My! Sidekick!!!”

“Violetta’s having nap time, sweetheart,” Jasmine said. “Though now that you mention it, it should be time for her to wake up. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you all too!”

“Yaaaaaay!”

\-----

All the excitement of the California family arriving and the intrigue from getting to know Ava a bit meant that no one really wanted to cook, so they instead decided to order a large amount of Chinese takeout and have Kanti and Ava join them to extend the family time. Putunia had been oddly insistent about wanting noodles rather than rice, which Boris and Kamal had figured was just a new eating preference phase and no one had any objections getting both noodles and rice with the order. As they waited for Lin to return with the food, the adults had some pleasant conversation while Putunia tried to play with Violetta with varying degrees of success. She wasn’t making Vio cry, at least, which was the subject of a concern between the adults.

Namely, Violetta did not seem to like Ava very much.

“I’m _so_ sorry about this, I don’t know why she’s been crying so much lately,” Jasmine said as she tried once more to console Vio after seeing Ava’s continued presence made her burst into tears again. “Every time we’re in public and a stranger gets too close, she just starts bawling. I think she might be in the ‘terrified of strangers’ phase.”

“That’s...perfectly understandable,” Ava said, somewhat dejected. “It must be tiring, being a baby with everything being so new all the time...”

“Ohhh, poor scaried Violetta,” Boris said sympathetically. “She’s usulaly responnded to ‘me’ verey well, do you think I can hold her for a Bit?”

“It’s worth a shot.”

Jasmine passed Vio into Boris’s waiting arms, and he gently took hold of her with a smile. “Hello, Violetta,” Boris cooed to her as her wailing began to subside into small sobs, and eventually just sad little hiccups. “There, their, itse okey,” he said softly as he gently rocked her, stroking her face and letting her grab onto one of his fingers. “Your going two meet a Lot of people in you’re hope-fully long life, and yes, some of themn will be Scary. But some people you mite think are scarey are actulaly Nice, and Ava seemes Nice to me. Ime shore you’ll warm up two her soon enough, in time.”

“Aw, she always seems to calm down around you,” Jasmine said. “You’re just a natural with babies, aren’t ya Boris? Like a big ol’ Russian teddy bear.” As Boris continued to help soothe Vio, Ava just watched with a bit of an uneasy demeanor. Kamal and Kanti both gave her a look of concern. Was she getting jealous over who a _baby_ was more familiar with and therefore preferred to be around? Or was it something else...

Soon enough, however, Lin had returned with the food and their focus changed from who the baby liked to distributing and eating dinner. As they ate, the conversation turned to each other’s interests. “So you said that you weren’t happy at the vet clinic?” Lin asked Ava, as he had left shortly after learning she was or had been Kanti’s former employer. “Do you have any ideas for what you’d prefer to do instead?”

“Ah, yes, as a matter of fact I do but I worry that it will be difficult to will myself back into it,” Ava said. “You see, I’ve always loved the arts, and while we’ve been working together Kanti has been encouraging me to get back into painting. I used to draw all the time as a child, but...something...happened...that caused me to prioritize other things for a long while...” She had put down her fork and began to rub at her still-gloved hands. Boris had just happened to glance over at Ava as she did this, and while he did tend to pass over some details this was one that he couldn’t help but notice. It was quite a similar reaction to how he sometimes reached up to his mouth without thinking when he was reminded of... _that_.

“I hope that you can get comfortable with art again,” Jasmine said. “I’m an artist myself, so maybe I can give you some tips on the business part of that scene if you need any.”

Ava smiled. “Thank you for the offer,” she said. “I’ll keep that in mind if I need any advice. Of course I have to focus on relearning the actual art skills first...”

“At least you got plenty of semi-willing models for practice,” Kanti chuckled.

“You have models?” Putunia asked through a mouthful of noodles. “What kinda models, like Mask Driver or something cooler?”

“Putunia, remember what we said about talking with your mouth full?” Kamal asked with a grimace.

“Oh right. It’s gross.”

“Exactly.”

“Er, Mask Driver?” Ava gave her a confused look. “I’m...not sure what you mean, unless that’s a type of toy... No, I think Kanti is referring to how I’ve taken to sketching the clinic’s patients, and also her cats on the occasion I’ve been over at her apartment.”

“I’m sure the clutter loves the attention,” Kamal said.

“Oh, that reminds me!” Jasmine suddenly blurted out. “Heather said she was gonna make your guys’ cake, and I remember she asked Kanti about having a little cat or something on her half. She had the idea to put a frog on yours to match animal interests, you still like frogs right? Or would having an animal-themed cake feel too much like a kid’s cake or something?”

“Of course I still like frogs,” Kamal replied with a smile. “Yeah, frog and cat cake sounds great. And I’m not really particular about the flavor either, I’ll take baker’s choice.”

“You ‘say’ that, but I bed you reelly wanmt chock-lit,” Boris teased.

Strangely enough, this conversation topic made Ava seem a bit on-edge. “You’re, um...you’re talking about _birthday_ cake, right?” she asked. “And I assume they’ll have...can...candles...on them?”

“Uhhh...yes?”

Ava’s face blanched at that answer. “I, uh, I should probably get going,” she said, standing up without much warning. “I had...plans! Yes, I wanted to look at an art supply store for some beginner’s paints and I need to get there before they close.”

“Aren’t they open until 9?” Kanti asked. She took another look at Ava’s expression and immediately changed her tune. “No, you got a good point, might take a while to browse for stuff. I should probably come with, since you’re my ride and all, hehe...”

“Yes, thank you for allowing me to stay for dinner,” Ava said as she hastily made to grab her bag.

“Don’t you at least wanna take some of this home?” Lin asked. “We’ve got a lot for the...five of us? I almost counted Vio but she’s still eating out of the jar...”

“Well, if you insist...”

With two meals’ worth of food packed up for both Ava and Kanti, the two ladies took their leave. “What’s wrong with Ava?” Putunia asked. “That was like how Pops acts when we have checkups...”

“Yeah, there was definitely some fear in that reaction,” Kamal said. “You don’t think...?”

Putunia gasped. “Ava’s afraid of cake!” she exclaimed. “Ohhh no that _stinks_ , she can’t come to Dad and Kanti’s party cuz she can’t have cake!”

“I don’t think cake is the issue,” Jasmine said. “Or maybe it is. Either way, it’s up to her to decide if she wants to talk about that, and it didn’t seem like she was ready then...”

“I thimk...no, I shouldent ass-ume...” Boris said with a concerned grimace. “Like you sayed, it’s Her Busyness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s a crimmus merkle, I got this done for the 25th :D Well, I _say_ “crimmus merkle”, but I really don’t believe in miracles and just, like, my determination to not have _three_ months between chapters here. To be fair, I’ve been getting a lot of writing done! It’s just all stuff I can’t post right now cuz it’s out of order of a series of one-shots hehe. Soon, though! I’d like to get a few of the early ones done before posting any of those so I have kind of a buffer, y’know? I’m also probably gonna draw things for all the stories, I’m just that kind of person. I was gonna use a specific term, but it’s in reference to concepts I don’t wanna talk about without some appropriate warnings (nothing _bad_ , just might make some people uncomfy) and descriptions generally don’t get taken into account for how I tag fic soooooo yeah. I just won’t talk about it, safer that way :3
> 
> Sanfter Löwe means “gentle lion” in German, and “gentle lion” is a nickname for the Leonburger breed of dog. If you don’t already know or have an idea as to the significance of that, I promise that it will be explained in due time. Just know that it’s just as significant a factor to Ava’s past as Boris’s lily is to him.


End file.
